Wildcats bid a farewell to lone senior

After a disappointing season resulting in a conference record of 5-15 and an overall record of 10-16, the Chico State’s women’s basketball team says goodbye to much more than a chance at the CCAA tournament.

Get to know Brooke Bowen

Senior guard Brooke Bowen came to Chico as a transfer from Clark College in Vancouver, Washington, during 2014. She led the Wildcats in rebounding (144) and blocks (17) in the 2014-15 season and proved herself to be a key part of the team.

“She’s fiery,” said fellow teammate junior guard Sherise Porchia. “It really sucks … she set a great example. Not having her next year will definitely leave an impact.”

Bowen’s 2015-16 performance

Over the course of the 2015-16 season Bowen averaged 8.2 points per game and had an average free throw percentage of .82.

“I think she did very well this season,” Porchia said. “She always kept a positive attitude towards playing and she never stopped trying.”

First-year forward McKena Barker said, “She left everything on the court and played as hard as she could for her final season. She was always positive and was a great teammate … I’m really going to miss her.”

Senior Brooke Bowen takes a shot in a game as her team looks on. Photo credit: Jordan Olesen

Bowen’s life off the court

When she wasn’t making a name for herself during games, Bowen still found ways to inspire the next generation of Wildcats.

“One of my favorite memories with the girls was being able to go out into the community with the Boys and Girls Club and do the spaghetti feeds,” Bowen said.

“Just to have the kids play with us … you can just see how happy they are to have us there and how they thought it was so cool, and it’s those experiences that just make you smile,” Bowen said.

Barker can even recall fond memories she shared with Bowen during road trips to away games.

“We were in the same van and we would just have so many jokes, she is such a funny person and can always make me laugh,” Barker said.

Bowen’s message to her team

After spending two seasons with the Wildcats Bowen made strong ties with both her coaches and her teammates.

“I started crying towards the end of that final game. Coach was putting other players in … and it hit me that I was officially done,” Bowen said.

Bowen went on to extend her gratitude to her head coach Brian Fogel, “I want to thank him for the last two years. I really wish I would have had the opportunity to play for him all four years … Brian is a great coach and he cares a lot about us personally, and that is just so rare,” Bowen said.

In regards to the remainder of the women’s basketball team, Bowen said she only wishes them prosperity in the future.

“I want them to enjoy it, enjoy it all as much as they can; these four years fly by really fast … I feel like I would never say this but I’m really going to miss those practices, even when I was tired,” Bowen said.

“Our motto was together. These girls on the team are like family,” Bowen said. “They are some of my best friends … thanks for being my family away from home.”